Monoram Hang: Becoming Minnesotan

Monoram Hang was a nine-year-old living in Phnom Penh when the Khmer Rouge came to power in Cambodia. His father was a Commander in the Army and was killed almost immediately. His mother had given birth only two days before and the whole family was made to leave their home and walk out of the city about 50 kilometers into the jungle. They were split up and sent to different work camps. In 1984 or 1985, his brother helped him cross into Thailand where he lived without permission in a refugee camp. He then received medical training and met his American sponsor, coming to Minnesota in 1988.